Colombia part 2. An Enchanted Garden

We’re on our way to Honda. This may sound a little strange in Colombia. At first we think it is an excursion to admire Max Verstappen’s newly-designed engine (which will bring him a guaranteed third place again in the next race), but Honda turns out to be a little colourful town, hemmed in between two mountain ranges of the eastern Andes. On our way there we make a stop in San Francisco. Confusing again, I know. We are there to visit the ‘Jardin Encantado’ , the ‘enchanted garden’. 



The enchanting process has undoubtedly taken longer than we are led to believe from Harry Potter’s adventures. It’s hard work, not many of us realise that. In the beautiful garden, situated on a mountain slope, a number of wrought iron arches have been erected, from which dozens of feeders are dangling. Yes, again with the aim of attracting hummingbirds. And it works. Over 20 different species visit the garden and the sound of their buzzing wings is everywhere. It is not easy to identify the different hummers, but a simple and effective solution has been conjured up. Every feeder has its own number and all the guide has to do is call out: “ indigo-capped, number 32” and we all rush to the designated spot, only to find that the bird has moved on to number 47. We take that in our stride, though. We spend a few pleasant hours in the garden and, when taking photographs, try to keep the feeders out of the picture as much as possible. Which is quite a challenge, here.


Indigo-capped Hummingbird


Rufous-tailed Hummingbird


Honda is a nice little town, indeed. We walk around and use a pedestrian bridge to cross the Magdalena river. The planks have so many large holes in them, that it requires some attentiveness not to fall through them and end up in the water 20 metres below. Just to be on the safe side we do a quick head count of our little group and it seems most of us have made it across. Nobody asks for a recount, so we walk back to the hotel.





The day after we pay a visit to the ‘Jardin Encantado’ just outside the town of Honda. It is a large ranch where sustainable livestock farming is combined with ecotourism. A wonderful concept, once started by Welsh immigrants. Various activities can be done on the farm. We can choose between calf-roping and a birding walk with a guide. At least we think we can choose because, as it turns out, the tour company has already made the decision for us. Calf-roping is off. The potential cowboys among us sulk and grumble, but finally they give in and off we go. Ornithological highlights like the Colombian chachalaca and the russet-throated puffbird provide some solace, fortunately. There will be plenty of opportunities for the over-sixties to show what they’re worth, This is Colombia, after all.




Colombian Chachalaca

Russet-throated Puffbird

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